Creative Director New Chicago, IL

Oliver UK Group; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 136,000 - 152,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company is seeking a Creative Director in Chicago to drive innovative storytelling and strategic design. The role involves overseeing a multidisciplinary team, enhancing brand communications, and leveraging AI tools to optimize creative processes. Ideal candidates should have over 10 years of experience in creative leadership, a strong portfolio, and the ability to mentor talent. Join us to build a best-in-class in-house agency and elevate brand storytelling for a global brand.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in a creative leadership role.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating excellence in brand storytelling and design.
• Experience presenting to C-level stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead and inspire a high-performing creative team.
• Drive brand storytelling across all marketing initiatives.
• Manage creative execution across various channels.

Skills

Leadership

Creativity

Strategic Thinking

Communication

Collaboration

Tools

GenAI

CGI

Video Production

Job description

Established in 2004, OLIVER is the world’s first and only specialist in designing, building, and running bespoke in-house agencies and marketing ecosystems for brands. We partner with over 300 clients in 40+ countries and counting. Our unique model drives creativity and efficiency, allowing us to deliver tailored solutions that resonate deeply with audiences.

As a part of The Brandtech Group , we're at the forefront of leveraging cutting-edge AI technology to revolutionise how we create and deliver work. Our AI solutions enhance efficiency, spark creativity, and drive insightful decision-making, empowering our teams to produce innovative and impactful results.

Role: Creative Director

Location: Chicago, IL – Hybrid/Onsite (2-3x/week)

About the role:

OLIVER is partnering with BISSELL to build an in-house agency that will set new standards for creative excellence and brand engagement. As Creative Director, you will be the visionary leader responsible for driving innovative storytelling, strategic design, and compelling brand communications across all consumer touchpoints, including digital, social, advertising, retail, packaging, and partnerships. In this role, you will oversee a multidisciplinary team of designers, copywriters, content creators, and producers, ensuring that all creative outputs align with BISSELL’s brand objectives, business goals, and evolving market trends. You will champion a culture of bold creativity, experimentation, and continuous learning, utilizing data-driven insights and emerging GenAI tools to enhance efficiency, ideation, and creative execution. You will also play a pivotal role in business development, attending client meetings, presenting creative strategies, and identifying opportunities to further elevate BISSELL’s brand presence. Your ability to mentor and develop creative talent, implement streamlined workflows, and collaborate cross-functionally will be key to your success. If you are a creative leader who thrives in a fast-paced environment and is passionate about pushing boundaries in brand storytelling, we’d love to hear from you!

What you will be doing:

• Lead and inspire a high-performing creative team, fostering a culture of excellence and innovation.
• Drive brand storytelling and strategic creative development across all BISSELL marketing initiatives.
• Oversee creative execution across digital, social, print, retail, packaging, and advertising channels.
• Collaborate with Integrated Marketing, Product Marketing, and Sales to develop consumer-centric creative strategies that drive brand preference and engagement.
• Utilize performance data, market insights, and consumer behavior trends to inform creative decision-making.
• Champion bold, insight-driven creative ideas, going beyond the brief to push BISSELL’s brand forward.
• Manage, supervise, and review the work of designers and content creators to ensure the highest level of creative output.
• Act as a brand guardian, ensuring all creative output maintains consistency, quality, and alignment with BISSELL’s brand identity.
• Implement streamlined creative processes, working with operations and planning teams to improve efficiency and optimize workflows.
• Stay ahead of AI-powered creative tools and automation, leveraging GenAI solutions to optimize content creation and enhance storytelling capabilities.
• Lead new business efforts by attending client meetings, presenting creative work, and identifying opportunities for BISSELL’s brand growth.
• Organize monthly creative showcases to highlight key learnings, successes, and innovation within the creative team.

What you need to be great in this role:

• 10+ years of experience in a creative leadership role within an advertising agency, branding agency, or in-house creative team.
• Strong conceptual and strategic thinking, with a portfolio that demonstrates excellence in brand storytelling, design, and advertising.
• Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary creative teams, fostering a collaborative and high-performance culture.
• Expertise in digital-first content creation, with a deep understanding of social media, video, experiential, and emerging formats.
• Strong experience in retail, packaging, and consumer product marketing.
• Knowledge of CGI, photography, video production, and post-production workflows.
• Ability to balance creative vision with business objectives, ensuring measurable impact and ROI.
• Experience presenting to C-level stakeholders and leading creative pitches with confidence and strategic clarity.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to influence across functions and levels.
• Interest or experience in leveraging GenAI tools to enhance creative ideation, production workflows, and campaign performance.
• A proactive, problem-solving mindset with the ability to navigate ambiguity and drive creative solutions.
• Experience in mentoring and professional development for creative teams, ensuring continuous skill enhancement and growth.
• At the time of this posting, the base salary for this position may range from $136,000.00 to $152,000.00. Individual compensation varies based on job related factors, including location, business needs, level of responsibility, experience, and qualifications. The range listed is just one component of OLIVER’s total compensation package.

Why Join OLIVER?

This is more than just a Creative Director role—it’s an opportunity to build a best-in-class in-house agency, leading transformational creative work for an iconic global brand. You’ll collaborate with a world-class marketing team, harnessing emerging GenAI tools and bold creative strategies to drive impact, efficiency, and innovation. If you’re ready to take BISSELL’s brand storytelling to the next level, let’s make something extraordinary together!

#LI-director #LI-FD1

Our values shape everything we do:

Be Imaginative to push the boundaries of what’s possible

Be always learningand listening to understand

Be actively pro-inclusive and anti-racist across our community, clients and creations

OLIVER, a part of the Brandtech Group, is an equal opportunity employer committed to creating an inclusive working environment where all employees are encouraged to reach their full potential, and individual differences are valued and respected. All applicants shall be considered for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, neurodivergence, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by local laws.

OLIVER has set ambitious environmental goals around sustainability, with science-based emissions reduction targets. Collectively, we work towards our mission,embedding sustainability into every department and through every stage of the project lifecycle.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

First Name *

Last Name *

Email *

Phone *

Location (City) *

Resume/CV *

Enter manually

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Enter manually

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Do you have the right to work in the country that you are applying for the role? * Select...

Do you now, or at a future date, require visa sponsorship to work in the country that this role is located in? * Select...

Please say yes or no as to whether you have worked for the following agencies in the last 7 years: Inside Ideas, OLIVER, or Adjust Your Set in North America. * Select...

Do you have advertising agency experience? *

LinkedIn Profile *

What are your annual salary requirements? *

What is your notice period? *

Are you based in any of the following locations? * Select...

If no, are you willing to relocate? Select...

How did you hear about us? *

Should you be shortlisted for this role, please indicate if you require any reasonable accommodations or assistance during the interview process * Select...

Have you overseen creative execution across 360 advertising campaigns? * Select...

Link to related work: *

U.S. Standard Demographic Questions

We invite applicants to share their demographic background. If you choose to complete this survey, your responses may be used to identify areas of improvement in our hiring process.

How would you describe your gender identity? (mark all that apply) Select...

How would you describe your racial/ethnic background? (mark all that apply) Select...

How would you describe your sexual orientation? (mark all that apply) Select...

Do you identify as transgender? Select...

Do you have a disability or chronic condition (physical, visual, auditory, cognitive, mental, emotional, or other) that substantially limits one or more of your major life activities, including mobility, communication (seeing, hearing, speaking), and learning? Select...

Are you a veteran or active member of the United States Armed Forces? Select...